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Elly Foster: Labour bows to Reform rhetoric on immigration
Home is where my husband is, where my children, grandchildren and friends live, here in the UK. I explored the issue of home in my first book entitled Home? I needed to come to terms with the Brexit vote. I was grieving. People like me with passports from EU countries outside the UK didn't get a vote, even though the outcome affected us badly. Not being allowed to vote hurt. At the time I'd been working and volunteering, paying taxes and NI for 41 years, yet I felt unwanted and not valued. Twice I went to London for the big demonstrations to demand a second referendum and it felt good to be among a million people who wanted the same. But in the end, I had to learn to get on with my life in Brexit Britain.
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Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Ukraine plans to boost food processing as preferential EU trade ends
KYIV, June 3 (Reuters) - Ukraine plans to change its policy on agricultural exports to adapt to the expected end of free access to the lucrative EU market, potentially reducing raw material exports while stepping up domestic food processing, its farm minister told Reuters. Agricultural goods accounted for about 60% of Ukraine's total exports of $41.6 billion last year, with the European Union buying around 60% of those goods, worth about $15 billion. The EU temporarily waived duties and quotas on Ukrainian agriculture after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, but that arrangement is due to expire on June 5. With EU farmers lobbying hard for restrictions to be placed on cheap Ukrainian competition, the free trade regime is set to be replaced by quotas, the final volume of which should be agreed between Ukraine and the EU by the end of July. A senior Ukrainian lawmaker said last month that the end of EU preferential trade could deprive Kyiv of 3.5 billion euros in annual revenue, a hole other markets will be unable to fill. Asked how Kyiv would cope, farm minister Vitaliy Koval said in an interview: "There will definitely be changes in export policy, and they will be driven by cold calculation, as we understand that we will suffer losses if the trade regime (with the EU) changes." He did not specify what measures might be taken, but said domestic production was a "matter of national interest" and the government's strategy. Currently, Ukrainian farm exports are not taxed, but oilseed processors have already proposed that the government limit the export of oilseeds in order to increase domestic production of vegetable oil. That could boost exports of processed oils, which are more profitable than raw material oilseeds. Koval said Ukrainian oilseed processing plants were working at only about 65% of capacity and his ministry was "exploring all ways to utilise our Ukrainian processing plants in order to create additional value and processing products". Ukraine traditionally exports about half of its soybean harvest and the major part of its rapeseed harvest. Koval said Ukraine needed to do more to take advantage of its own raw materials. "If someone thinks that we can be forced by certain methods into becoming a natural resource-supplying colony, which will supply the raw materials that are favourable to someone - that will not happen," he said. Koval added that Ukraine was pushing for an agreement with the EU on better terms than it had before the war. "There will definitely be quotas, we hope there will be an expansion of quotas compared to 2021," he said. ($1 = 0.8780 euros)
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Gateshead Union Electric Steel to close with 180 jobs losses
A steel company has announced its only UK plant is to shut next year with the loss of about 180 jobs. Union Electric Steel blamed a lack of demand for UK-manufactured products, high energy costs and the ongoing effects of Brexit for its decision to axe the site in company's managing director Will Garrett said job losses were not "imminent", but some redundancies would be made before the closure in spring 2026. He said the firm would return to consultations with union representatives to discuss the "timing and phasing" of redundancies. The firm said it would fulfil existing order books until the plant ceases operations. Mr Garrett said: "We recognise the significance of this decision for our employees, their families and the local community. "It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closure of our Gateshead operations after over 180 years of manufacturing."I wish to personally thank every one of our dedicated employees for their hard work, commitment and understanding during this difficult period." The factory was originally home to the Davy Roll Company before it was acquired in 1999 by Union Electric Steel. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Leader Live
2 hours ago
- Leader Live
Speed of UK rate cuts ‘shrouded in uncertainty' after tariffs, Bank boss says
Andrew Bailey told MPs during a Treasury Committee session that the Bank had 'genuine concerns' about escalating trade tensions. The governor, who was being quizzed alongside fellow members of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), said it was not clear-cut where UK interest rates will go next. 'I think the path remains downwards, but how far and how quickly is now shrouded in a lot more uncertainty, frankly,' he told MPs. 'We've added the word 'unpredictable' to 'uncertain' because of the sheer nature of what we're dealing with.' The MPC cut rates to 4.25% last month – the fourth reduction in a year. This decision was led by a slowdown in UK inflation, but the Bank said it had also considered the impact of US President Donald Trump's tariffs on the UK economy. Referring to US tariffs, Mr Bailey told MPs that the 'impact of fragmenting the world trading system is negative for world growth and activity'. 'It obviously increases uncertainty… and one impact of that is it tends to cause delays and putting off of investment decisions, because they are typically a once-only, irreversible decision.' The relationship between the US and China is at 'the centre' of global trade tensions and is a 'genuine concern', Mr Bailey said. The Bank chief also said the recent trade agreement struck between the UK and the US was 'in the circumstances, a good thing', but added: 'It still leaves the average tariff level higher than it was pre all this starting, and that's important to bear in mind. 'The UK is a very open economy…. so what affects our economy is not just whatever trade agreements we do, but also what the rest of the world does. 'You could make this point not just about China but also about the EU.' Mr Bailey reiterated his call for the UK to strengthen trade with the EU post-Brexit, telling the committee: 'I do strongly take the view that if we can rebuild trade with the EU, because they are our largest trading partner, then that's a good thing.' He added that the system of global trade established after the Second World War had now been 'blown up' by the Trump administration. Mr Bailey said: 'That system has now been blown up to a considerable degree and that has very serious consequences for the world economy.' It came as the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) cut its projections for global and UK economic growth in 2025 and 2026.
